Seven bullet-riddled bodies recovered in Balochistan

QUETTA – As many as seven bodies, riddled with bullets, were recovered, while in other incidents in Balochistan two people were gunned down and a senior police official narrowly escaped a rocket attack, officials said on Wednesday. According to ASP Bahsir Ahmed Brahvi, at least three bodies were found from the mountains near Eastern Bypass cattle market in Quetta. “The victims were shot in the head. Their hands and feet had been tied up with ropes,” said Brahvi, adding that they seemed to be Afghans by their appearance. The bodies were stated to be three days old and were shifted to Civil Hospital Quetta’s morgue, as the victims could not be identified until the filing of this report. In restive Dera Bugti, law-enforcement agencies recovered four bullet-riddled bodies from Nok Tarani area. Tehsildar Bahram Khan Bugti said the victims belonged to Notani clan of Bugti tribe and were identified as Naik Muhammad, Nooruddin, Mazhar Khan and Sabaz Ali. He said investigations were in progress to ascertain the motive behind the killings. Sources said unidentified assassins shot them dead and later threw their bodies in Nok Tarani area near Pir Koh. Reports from some other sources suggested they were picked up by security forces in a search operation in Dera Bugti in December last year for having links with the banned Baloch Republican Army. The bodies were shifted to PPL Hospital, Sui, for autopsy.Separately, a man was gunned down on Sariab Road near Tariq Hospital in Quetta. Identified as Abdul Karim Khilji, a vendor, the victim was attacked by unidentified armed men. He died on the spot while his killers managed to flee the crime scene. In another incident, a man was shot dead in main Khuzdar Bazaar near Agriculture Development Bank. Sources said Ghulam Qadir Zehri was on his way when unidentified gunmen opened indiscriminate firing. He was hit by multiple bullets and died instantly. Meanwhile, a senior police officer escaped a rocket attack in Kalat district, some 160 kilometres southeast of Quetta. According to sources, District Police Officer Khalid Baqi was heading towards his office from his residence, when unidentified attackers targeted his vehicle with a rocket. The DPO escaped the attack and the rocket hit a passing truck, damaging it partially. The sources further said the attackers also resorted to firing. But luckily, no loss of life was reported in the attack. Police and other law enforcement agencies rushed and cordoned off the area after the incident.